Construction of the church

In the 8th century, a Carolingian baptismal chapel, part of an imperial complex built by Charlemagne, stood on the site of the church. Charlemagne came to worship here at Christmas time in 775.

Work on the church began in the 1220s and continued in several stages until the 15th century. During this period, the original choir was replaced by a much larger sanctuary adorned with numerous stained glass windows, 55 panels of which are still original.

Because of its size, the parish church of Saint-Georges could be mistaken for a cathedral. However, this is not the case, as a cathedral is the seat of a bishopric, which has never been the case in Sélestat.
 

The western tower of the church

In the early 14th century, construction began on the western section of the church tower, which was completed in 1490.

This tower houses 6 bells, the first of which, known as ‘le bourdon’, is decorated with the Sélestat lion, among other symbols.

At 60 metres high, the Gothic bell tower of Saint-Georges church in Sélestat is one of the first things you see when you arrive in Sélestat.

The crypt

The crypt of Saint-Georges church used to be a public passageway open on three sides: north, south and east. This passageway was designed in the 15th century when the new choir was built, to avoid dividing the cemetery that then extended around St George's into two parts. The new choir was raised and a sort of vaulted passageway was built underneath it by Maître Mathis. It consists of a hall vaulted with four ribbed cross-pieces falling on a heavy low central pillar.

The passage was closed off in the 19th century by glazed stone infills and converted into a crypt.